Carlo Andrea Caracciolo

Carlo Andrea Caracciolo (1583/4 – 5 August 1646) was an Italian nobleman and military commander serving the Spanish Empire.

A member of the House of Caracciolo of the Kingdom of Naples, his military career coincided with the Thirty Years' War.

He fought in Italy, Germany, Iberia and Brazil against the English, French, Swedes, Catalans and Portuguese.

[1] In 1611, Caracciolo joined the expedition of the Marquis of Santa Cruz to the Kerkennah Islands, where he was wounded in action.

A marine unit, it was amalgamated with the Tercio napolitano de la Real Armada in 1624 under Caracciolo's command.

In 1626, his fief at San Giorgio La Molara was raised to a duchy, which he ceded later that year to Carlo Maria.

In the autumn of 1633, having marched from Milan over the Alps, his forces campaigned against the Swedes in southern Germany, taking part in the relief of Constance and Breisach and the capture of Waldshut, Säckingen, Laufenburg and Rheinfelden.

Caracciolo then joined the Army of Alsace as a captain of artillery and took part in the relief of Valenza, receiving a personal commendation from the Count-Duke of Olivares.

Recalled to help suppress the Catalan revolt, he was present at the Battle of Montjuïc in 1641, where his eldest son was killed.